PROJECT DIANA TRIVIA QUIZ:
ANSWERS
1. (c) Edwin Howard Armstrong
A crystal controlled FM transmitter/receiver specially designed for the Signal Corps by Armstrong was chosen for use because it could be modified to meet the unique needs of the project: first, it could be precisely tuned to compensate for the Doppler shift in the frequency of the returning signal; and second, it could generate the longer pulse needed to produce a signal strong enough to detect after its long journey from the moon.
2. (a) Walter McAfee
Walter Samuel McAfee was a mathematician and theoretical physicist assigned to the Mathematical Analysis Section at Camp Evans. It was he who made the sophisticated calculations of the reflective characteristics of the moon, changes in the earth’s position relative to the moon, and the resulting Doppler shift needed to adjust the receiver frequency to detect incoming signals from the moon. These measures needed to be recalculated on a daily basis. He went on to have a distinguished career at Camp Evans.
3. (d) Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Episode 11 of the 2014 series, a follow-on to Carl Sagan’s earlier series also entitled Cosmos, is devoted to the search for extraterrestrial life. In it, host Neil deGrasse Tyson explains that Project Diana demonstrated the ability of radio waves to travel in space, prompting searches for similar signals potentially emanating from other solar systems. The episode includes a contemporary newsreel featuring the Project Diana personnel, shown in movie theaters around the world.
4. (a) Hungary
On February 6, 1946, the great Hungarian scientist Zoltan Bay succeeded in reflecting radio pulses off the moon using a completely different approach involving an indirect, electrolytic detector.
5. b) Around 2.5 seconds
It took approximately 2.5 seconds for a radio pulse to make the approximately 480,000-mile round trip to the moon.
6. (d) All of the above
All of the above and more! Project Diana sparked the public’s imagination, prompting predictions of space travel, long-range missiles, and orbiting artificial satellites. It was even suggested that Project Diana could provide a test of Einstein’s theory of relativity. Although more sober voices pooh-poohed these wild speculations, over time they actually all came true. As Fred Carl, COO of InfoAge, put it: “Project Diana was a pivotal event that built on World War II expertise but pointed the way to the future.
7. (b) The bedspring antenna
No antenna available at the time had sufficient sensitivity to ensure the success of Project Diana. The project leader, Jack DeWitt, called on the Antenna Design Section, which proposed a clever design that unfortunately failed to work. DeWitt then turned to his own little group, which came up with the inspired idea of positioning two SCR-271 stationary radars side-by-side, creating an enormous structure that resembled a giant bedspring.
8. (b) Pro Patria Vigilans
The motto of the U.S. Army Signal Corps is "Pro Patria Vigilans,” "Watchful for the Country." The motto reflects the Signal Corps' dedication to being on high alert and ready to provide coordinated communications at any time of the day or night.
9. (a) demonstrating that radio waves can pass through the earth’s ionosphere
Historically, long-range communication depended on “skywave” propagation, which takes advantage of the reflecting properties of the ionosphere to relay signals to earth in distant locations. For this reason, it was widely believed that radio waves were unable to pass through the ionosphere. DeWitt challenged this reasoning and succeeded in proving he was right, paving the way for radio communications beyond the earth. The Project Diana team did indeed measure the distance to the moon (b) and assessed certain characteristics of the moon’s surface (c), but only because these measures were needed to carry out the goals of the Project.
10. (b) Richard Buckminster Fuller
“Bucky” Fuller (1885-1983) was an American architect, designer, engineer, planner, and visionary. He is better known for his later work in popularizing the geodesic dome, but the odd, yurtlike structures known as Dymaxion Deployment Units (DDUs) grew out of his futuristic vision of achieving a “maximum gain of advantage from minimal energy input.” In 1942 the Army Signal Corps ordered 200 DDUs, but far fewer were actually built and delivered.
A crystal controlled FM transmitter/receiver specially designed for the Signal Corps by Armstrong was chosen for use because it could be modified to meet the unique needs of the project: first, it could be precisely tuned to compensate for the Doppler shift in the frequency of the returning signal; and second, it could generate the longer pulse needed to produce a signal strong enough to detect after its long journey from the moon.
2. (a) Walter McAfee
Walter Samuel McAfee was a mathematician and theoretical physicist assigned to the Mathematical Analysis Section at Camp Evans. It was he who made the sophisticated calculations of the reflective characteristics of the moon, changes in the earth’s position relative to the moon, and the resulting Doppler shift needed to adjust the receiver frequency to detect incoming signals from the moon. These measures needed to be recalculated on a daily basis. He went on to have a distinguished career at Camp Evans.
3. (d) Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Episode 11 of the 2014 series, a follow-on to Carl Sagan’s earlier series also entitled Cosmos, is devoted to the search for extraterrestrial life. In it, host Neil deGrasse Tyson explains that Project Diana demonstrated the ability of radio waves to travel in space, prompting searches for similar signals potentially emanating from other solar systems. The episode includes a contemporary newsreel featuring the Project Diana personnel, shown in movie theaters around the world.
4. (a) Hungary
On February 6, 1946, the great Hungarian scientist Zoltan Bay succeeded in reflecting radio pulses off the moon using a completely different approach involving an indirect, electrolytic detector.
5. b) Around 2.5 seconds
It took approximately 2.5 seconds for a radio pulse to make the approximately 480,000-mile round trip to the moon.
6. (d) All of the above
All of the above and more! Project Diana sparked the public’s imagination, prompting predictions of space travel, long-range missiles, and orbiting artificial satellites. It was even suggested that Project Diana could provide a test of Einstein’s theory of relativity. Although more sober voices pooh-poohed these wild speculations, over time they actually all came true. As Fred Carl, COO of InfoAge, put it: “Project Diana was a pivotal event that built on World War II expertise but pointed the way to the future.
7. (b) The bedspring antenna
No antenna available at the time had sufficient sensitivity to ensure the success of Project Diana. The project leader, Jack DeWitt, called on the Antenna Design Section, which proposed a clever design that unfortunately failed to work. DeWitt then turned to his own little group, which came up with the inspired idea of positioning two SCR-271 stationary radars side-by-side, creating an enormous structure that resembled a giant bedspring.
8. (b) Pro Patria Vigilans
The motto of the U.S. Army Signal Corps is "Pro Patria Vigilans,” "Watchful for the Country." The motto reflects the Signal Corps' dedication to being on high alert and ready to provide coordinated communications at any time of the day or night.
9. (a) demonstrating that radio waves can pass through the earth’s ionosphere
Historically, long-range communication depended on “skywave” propagation, which takes advantage of the reflecting properties of the ionosphere to relay signals to earth in distant locations. For this reason, it was widely believed that radio waves were unable to pass through the ionosphere. DeWitt challenged this reasoning and succeeded in proving he was right, paving the way for radio communications beyond the earth. The Project Diana team did indeed measure the distance to the moon (b) and assessed certain characteristics of the moon’s surface (c), but only because these measures were needed to carry out the goals of the Project.
10. (b) Richard Buckminster Fuller
“Bucky” Fuller (1885-1983) was an American architect, designer, engineer, planner, and visionary. He is better known for his later work in popularizing the geodesic dome, but the odd, yurtlike structures known as Dymaxion Deployment Units (DDUs) grew out of his futuristic vision of achieving a “maximum gain of advantage from minimal energy input.” In 1942 the Army Signal Corps ordered 200 DDUs, but far fewer were actually built and delivered.